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Mike Webb has been named CEO of two related biotech companies. Mike has been a member of CEO Roundtable for many years, and we have seen him work through some very challenging issues and enjoyed his successes. Mike most recently was the CEO of Allegro Diagnostics, which was sold at the end of last year. Complexity of business and science has not deterred Mike. We congratulate our friend on this new challenge.

Tyrogenex and Xcovery, two privately held companies focused on the development of next-generation targeted therapeutics for cancer and ophthalmology, today announced the appointment of Michael D. Webb as president and CEO of both companies.

“Tyrogenex and Xcovery have built an exciting and robust pipeline of preclinical and clinical-stage compounds, which have the potential to offer very significant benefits to patients. I am looking forward to advancing these high-impact programs.”

“Mike has a breadth of leadership and fundraising experience in healthcare and life sciences that will prove to be invaluable. With several candidates in our pipeline progressing to the next stage of clinical development, Mike joins the companies at a pivotal time. We look forward to working with him to bring both Tyrogenex and Xcovery to the next level,” said Chris Liang, Ph.D., scientific co-founder and chief scientific officer of Tyrogenex and Xcovery.

The boards of both companies appointed Webb, who has been CEO of four biotechnology companies as well as chairman of the MassBio industry organization, as president and CEO. Sheridan Snyder, co-founder and former president and CEO of both companies, remains chairman of the Xcovery board and a director on the Tyrogenex board.

“I am excited about joining an organization committed to leveraging outstanding science and discovery to develop the next generation of therapeutics for patients with ophthalmologic diseases and cancer,” said Webb. “Tyrogenex and Xcovery have built an exciting and robust pipeline of preclinical and clinical-stage compounds, which have the potential to offer very significant benefits to patients. I am looking forward to advancing these high-impact programs.”

Tyrogenex and Xcovery share a common scientific legacy and management team. Xcovery is developing X-396, an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor for non-small cell lung cancer, which is entering phase 3 this year. Tyrogenex is developing X-82, an orally administered, dual VEGFR/PDGFR inhibitor for angiogenesis in oncology and wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Tyrogenex is planning to initiate a large phase 2 study of X-82 for both wet AMD and solid tumors in 2015.

Webb joins Tyrogenex and Xcovery with more than 25 years’ experience in growing biotechnology companies and a track record that includes raising more than $350 million in private and public equity markets. Most recently, he was president and CEO of Allegro Diagnostics Corp., a venture-backed molecular diagnostics company focused on lung cancer; Allegro was acquired by Veracyte in 2014. Prior to that, he founded and served as president and CEO of Anchor Therapeutics, Inc. During his time as president and CEO of EPIX Pharmaceuticals, he led the company from “A”-round financing to an industry leadership position in pharmaceuticals for diagnostic imaging as well as its listing on NASDAQ .

Webb has served as chairman of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council; founding chairman of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay’s Math, Science and Technology Initiative; and on several corporate boards. Mr. Webb holds an MBA from Northwestern University, a master’s in international relations from Sussex University, and a BA/BS in biochemistry and economics from the University of Kansas.

About Tyrogenex

Tyrogenex is developing X-82, an orally administered, dual VEGFR/PDGFR inhibitor, as a targeted therapeutic for solid tumors and ophthalmological diseases. Preliminary data from a phase 1/2 pilot study shows that X-82 is well tolerated, does not exhibit any dose-limiting toxicity and demonstrates preliminary signs of antitumor activity. The company is initiating phase 2 studies of X-82 for both wet AMD and solid tumors in 2015.

About Xcovery

Through innovative drug design, Xcovery has developed a comprehensive pipeline of oncology therapies with higher potency and low toxicity that target a wide range of advanced tumors. Xcovery is developing X-396, a small molecule that inhibits anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), for treatment of ALK positive non-small cell lung cancer, lymphoma and neuroblastoma. Xcovery is enrolling patients in the expansion cohort portion of a phase 1/2 study of X-396 for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer where ALK is deregulated. The company also is preparing to initiate a phase 3 registration study in 2015.

“We have discovered and are developing stabilized enantiomers for several classes of compounds by replacing the exchangeable hydrogen at the chiral center with deuterium.”

“Using our deuterium-enabled chiral switching (DECS) platform, we enable the testing and development of the single, preferred enantiomer of certain drugs and drugcandidates that are currently developed or marketed as racemic mixtures (two mirror-image compounds or enantiomers). Historically, many stable, single enantiomer drugs have demonstrated improved therapeutic properties, such as improved efficacy or reduced side effects over the parent racemic mixture. However, numerous drugs are still developed and marketed with racemic active ingredients because the enantiomers are chemically unstable and rapidly interconvert in vivo,” said Sheila DeWitt, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of DeuteRx.

“Dr. DeWitt and her team have pioneered a novel approach to chiral switching, a successful and profitable strategy that initially emerged in the 1990s to develop the preferred, single but stable enantiomer from a mixture of two stable enantiomers, resulting in many blockbuster drugs including Lexapro®, Lunesta®, Levaquin® and Nexium®,” said Timothy Barberich, founder, former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Sepracor (currently Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.) and advisor to DeuteRx.

In the publication, DeuteRx describes the application of DECS to two thalidomide analogs, including CC-122, a compound currently in human clinical trials for hematological cancers and solid tumors. DeuteRx further shows that the in vitro anti-inflammatory and in vitro anti-tumorigenic activity in a mouse xenograft model of multiple myeloma, is due almost exclusively to the stabilized (-)-enantiomer of CC-122.

DeuteRx has eight issued U.S. patents with composition of matter claims encompassing deuterium-enriched enantiomers based on known racemic active ingredients. Additional pending patent applications by DeuteRx include claims to deuterium-enriched enantiomers for at least 11 families of thalidomide analogs, including CC-122.

About DeuteRx LLC
DeuteRx is pioneering deuterium-enabled chiral switching (DECS), a revolutionary approach to improve racemic small-molecule marketed drugs and drug candidates intended for patients across multiple therapeutic indications. Numerous drugs are still developed and marketed with racemic mixtures (two mirror-image compounds or enantiomers) because the enantiomers are chemically unstable and rapidly interconvert in vivo. To date, DeuteRx has demonstrated the use of DECS to stabilize the enantiomers of many racemic active ingredients including bupropion, donepezil, inolitazone, pioglitazone, prasugrel, CC-11006, CC-122 and MSDC-0160. DeuteRx’s prioritized single-enantiomer product assets are DRX-065 for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), DRX-254 for multiple myeloma, DRX-195 for pediatric sickle cell disease and DRX-184 for CNS disorders.

DeuteRx LLC is a Boston-based biotechnology company founded in December 2012 as a spin-out company from Deuteria Pharmaceuticals Inc. Deuteria Pharmaceuticals Inc. was sold to a major biopharmaceutical company in December 2012.

Lexapro® is a registered trademark of Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Lunesta® is a registered trademark of Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Levaquin® is a registered trademark of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Nexium® is a registered trademark of AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP.

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Mark Leuchtenberger has just been named the new CEO of Chiasma, a late-stage biotech company. Mark is a member of CEO Roundtable.

Chiasma is a biopharmaceutical company focused on evolving orphan medications to better meet the needs of patients and healthcare professionals. Our first priority is the development and commercialization of octreotide capsules – the only oral somatostatin analog. This means the chance to avoid painful needles and minimize symptoms that can arise as traditional injections wear off. It’s a new way of addressing treatment that’s providing a real sense of hope.

Mark Leuchtenberger is a longtime pharmaceutical executive who oversaw the launch of Biogen Idec’s first multiple sclerosis drug, Avonex, has been named CEO of a privately held Newton biotech.

Chiasma Inc., which recently raised $70 million in Series E financing and last week told the Boston Business Journal that it’s in the process of looking for new, larger headquarters in either Newton or Cambridge, today named Mark Leuchtenberger as its president and CEO. He replaces Roni Mamluk, one of the primary inventors of Chiasma’s proprietary drug technology, who will now become the company’s chief development officer, a newly created position.

Leuchtenberger has served as CEO of Acusphere, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Targanta Therapeutics and Therion Biologics. From 1996 to 2002 he worked at Biogen overseeing commercial operations, including the late-stage development launch of Avonex.
Congratulations, Mark!

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Jeff Sabados, a new member of CEO Roundtable, just announced that his company, Resilience Therapeutics, has raised the first million it needs to find a way to cure PTSD. The story is in today’s issue of MHT.

Former Navy SEAL-turned-entrepreneur Jeff Sabados has raised nearly $1 million in funding to embark on his next venture: Cambridge-based Resilience Therapeutics, a drug discovery company whose aim is to develop a cure for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Last week, Sabados closed a $975,000 funding round as part of a planned $3 million fundraising, with investors that included New York-based PsychoGenics, a pre-clinical central nervous system research lab; and an individual angel investment fromJason Fuller, principal at the venture firm New Enterprise Associates.

“We’re really going after the cure, not just symptom relief,” said Sabados, who spent almost a decade in the U.S. Navy before becoming an entrepreneur.

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Larry O’Toole is the founder and CEO of Gentle Giant Moving Co. and a member of CEO Roundtable. When you meet Larry, you’ll understand why and how his company is the winner as Healthiest Employer. There is a story that every new employee must run the Harvard Stadium steps with Larry before being hired! We also know that Gentle Giant is the industry leader in high-quality moving services.

Healthiest Employer: Midsize Company Winner | Gentle Giant Moving Co.

Gentle Giant Moving Co. doesn’t just want healthy employees. By its very nature, the Somerville company literally needs healthy employees if it’s going to succeed in its business of moving and storing what are oftentimes heavy, awkward household and office items for its thousands of clients.

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Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, integrates the piano into a workshop he is leading at the annual CEO Roundtable Retreat at Babson College on Jan. 22.

He may not be an expert in business matters, but Benjamin Zander’s mission last week at a retreat for CEOs didn’t require that he be. Instead, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra was recruited to make stronger leaders—and stronger people—out of the group of men and women at the CEO Roundtable annual retreat in Wellesley.

“There’s always hesitation,” CEO Roundtable Chairman Loren Carlson said last week at the retreat at Babson College, “when you bring a group of high- powered CEOs into a room where they don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Despite that trepidation, Carlson said that the CEOs in attendance had made solid headway through the first morning of the day-and-half long retreat.

“So seldom do CEOs get to get away from the daily decision- making and just reflect,” Carlson said

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Kees Been, CEO of Lysosomal Therapeutics, announced that the company recently closed on an additional $20million in new financing to continue the development of a drug to fight Parkinson’s disease.

The four-year-old biotech company co-founded by former Genzyme CEO Henri Termeer has secured $20 million in equity funding to progress drug development for Parkinson’s disease.

Cambridge-based Lysosomal Therapeutics Inc., named for the enzyme deficiency in a set of cells known as the lysosome that are involved in a set of genetic disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, said the most recent funding came from existing investors, including Atlas Venture, Hatteras Venture Partners, Lilly Ventures, Sanofi-Genzyme BioVentures, Roche Venture Fund, Partners Innovation Fund and several angel investors.

The company previously raised $4.8 million in equity funding in May 2014.In a press release this month, executives said they had met their seed-stage funding goal – to generate a promising therapeutic molecule for Parkinson’s disease.

“With the continued support of our investors and through the expansion of our team, we will advance our Parkinson’s disease therapeutic candidate to a clinical start and also grow our target-rich biology platform by exploring the known relationships between other lysosomal storage and neurodegenerative disorders, said Kees Been, LTI’s founding president and chief executive officer.”

CEO Roundtable congratulates Kees and his team on the continuation of the long march to solutions.

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I urge you attend this seminar on January 28 at Newton Marriott at 5:30 PM. Two members of CEO Roundtable are featured on this Leaderpreneur Panel on Jan. 28

CEO Roundtable is a sponsor of this excellent series of panel discussions presented by Atlantic Consulting. Members of CEO Roundtable have been on many of these Leaderpreneur Panels. The meetings are early evening and the discussions are always stimulating and informative. You do not need to be a member of CEO Roundtable to attend.

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Paula C. Beauregard, CEO of Edge Velocity, presented the company’s story to date in raising investment while maintaining control of its vision. She was introduced to the WPI Venture Forum by David Bonneau, another member of CEO Roundtable and founder of Enginasion, a specialty engineering company.

Edge Velocity is a premier provider in mobile IP wireless mesh routing technology, which enables First Responders to communicate within harsh environments. Paula’s personal experience on 9/11 was the source of her inspiration and commitment to finding a better way.

Paula is a member of CEO Roundtable and we have participated in this story. We are very proud of Paula and Edge Velocity and know that we will be saying, “We remember when”, as we read more about their success.

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Michael Raab, founder and president of Agrivida , announced that the
company has just closed on a Series D round of $12M. Agrivida is a leader in
genetic engineering of plants to improve products used in agriculture and
industry. Its technology platforms enable improved feeding and fueling of
the world.

Agrivida, Inc ., an innovative technology company focused on animal
nutrition and alternative fuels, announced today that it has raised $12
million as part of a Series D financing to advance the development and
commercialization of its proprietary GraINzyme® feed additive enzymes and
INergyTM silage technology platforms. Cultivian Sandbox Ventures led the
round.

“We view Agrivida as a very attractive investment, and we like the company,
strategy, direction and technology platforms,” said Ron Meeusen, Managing
Partner of Cultivian Sandbox Ventures LLC. “We believe in the company’s
strategy of delivering unique enzyme solutions that can help improve the
economic efficiency of the global food system and industrial products used.”